In a typical digital radio receiver, for symbol timing, timing estimation must be performed on a received signal in order to determine the optimal sampling point to maximize demodulator performance. Symbol timing estimation and recovery is a critical function in any digital radio receiver design. In the prior art, symbol timing estimation typically is performed during a receive slot, thereby requiring buffering of information. This processing requires additional time and complexity to implement.
There is a need for a method and device for predictive symbol timing estimation in a digital radio receiver that does not require buffering, and thus is more efficient.